Happy New Year!

The new year brings up a lot of talk of resolutions. Are they good? Are they bad? Do they even work? That’s for the individual to decide for themselves. However, I think we can all agree that goals are a good thing. They give us something to aspire to and, if we craft them well, they give us an opportunity to grow and achieve. Achieving our goals feels good. So, what stops us from reaching them? Here are some common roadblocks that prevent us from reaching those goals we want to achieve and things we’ve resolved to do.

Set Unrealistic goals

While goals may be designed to push us, we can still go too far or try to do too much. Keep it simple. You can challenge yourself even when you simplify. In fact, the simplicity makes your goals seem more attainable.

For example, if you decide to say “yes” to every new business opportunity that comes your way, you will burn out quickly and your win rates will inevitably go down. Take on the opportunities that suit you best.

Didn’t keep track

This may be the biggest trap for a lot of us: Writing and logging the progress we make. Or even mapping out little goals on the way to achieving the bigger goal. But, one amazing benefit of keeping track of your goals is you get to see the progress you make at each individual milestone. Keeping track propels you onward because you allow yourself to see how far you’ve come.

Maybe you have a new marketing plan to put into place this year. How will you know what actually works if you’re not keeping track of the avenues that are generating the most buzz? You may be putting your energies into the wrong place without realizing it because you’re not keeping track.

Forgot about them

Have you ever written out your new year’s resolutions only to lose the scrap of paper you wrote them on? You’re not alone. What if you were to write them down in a place that you would see every single day? You would be more inclined to work on them when you see them and work towards them constantly. Perhaps you could hang them on your cubical or office wall. Or maybe even make your resolutions the background of your computer screen. I recommend just putting them somewhere you will see them. This will help you achieve them.

Have too many resolutions/goals

Sometimes we get really ambitious. When we plan a whole year of goals and resolutions, it seems like we have so much time to complete them! Once again, keep it simple. Choose just a few things you would like to improve during the year or time frame for your goal. When you have only a few to work on, you are much more likely to accomplish them.

Whatever your goals are this year, keep these few pitfalls in mind as you work on them. Make this the year that you actually achieve your goals!

Want to learn more about resolutions for 2020 and how to use lessons learned from 2019? Register for our next free webinar—Resolutions for 2020: Applying Lessons Learned.